Double Boiler - Simmering water is in the bottom pan, and foods such as chocolate or a delicate sauce sits in the top pan. This prevents scorching that can occur from direct heat.

Dredge - To lightly coat food that is going to be fried with flour, breadcrumbs, or cornmeal. The coating helps to brown the food and provides a crunchy surface. Dredged foods need to be cooked immediately. Breaded foods (those dredged in flour, dipped in egg then dredged again in breading) can be prepared and held before cooking.

Emulsify - To bind together two liquid ingredients that normally do not combine smoothly (such as water and fat). Slowly add one ingredient to the other while mixing rapidly.

Fold - With a rubber spatula or spoon, to very gently integrate two mixtures without beating, in order to preserve the volume. The purpose is to to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.

Fond -  A classic French culinary term meaning the browned caramelized and concentrated bits or residue that remains in the pan after cooking meat. The fond is what you are after when you "deglaze" a pan for flavoring sauces and making gravies.

Ganache - Ganache is a rich chocolate mixture made by combining chopped semisweet chocolate and boiling cream and then stirring until smooth. The proportions of chocolate to cream can vary, and the resulting ganache can be used as a cake glaze or beaten until fluffy and used as a filling or as the base for truffles and other chocolate confections.

Garnish - A decorative edible accompaniment that is added to a finished dish entirely for eye appeal, such as a sprig of mint or parsley. A garnish may be eaten but that is not its purpose.

Glace - French word meaning: (1) ice or ice cream; (2) Icing or frosting used on a cake; (3) A cut of meat that has been glazed in a hot oven by constantly basting the meat with its own juices.

Grate - To rub hard-textured food against a grater (a tool with small, rough, sharp-edged holes) to reduce to fine particles. Grating works best with firm foods; soft food (such as some cheeses) form clumps.

Grill, Grilling - Grilling is a high-heat cooking method done directly over live flames (cooking the food in a matter of minutes). Many grilled foods have a wonderful smoky or charred flavor because as the food cooks, fat drips down to the heat source and as it burns on the coals or heat element its fumes and flavors are sent back up to the outside of the food. Usually the food is turned over as it grills, so both sides are directly exposed to the heat source.

Infuse - To steep an aromatic ingredient in hot liquid until the flavor has been extracted and absorbed by the liquid. Teas are infusions. Milk or cream can also be infused with flavor before being used in custards or sauces.

Infusion - An infusion is the flavor that's extracted from any ingredient such as tea leaves, herbs, or fruit by steeping them in a liquid such as water, oil, or vinegar.

Julienne - To cut food into thin sticks which are also called matchsticks. Food is cut with a knife or mandoline into even slices, then into strips.

Knead - The process of working dough by mixing, stretching, and pulling. Kneading is most often used in bread dough, and is a necessary step in order to develop the gluten. To knead, gather your dough into a ball. Using the heel of your hands, press down on the dough. Pull up the part of the dough that was flattened by your hands and fold it back over on itself. Keep repeating the process, turning the dough periodically.

Knob - A rounded nugget of a harder food, such as "a 2-inch knob of fresh ginger," to be sliced or grated.

Marinate - To steep food in a seasoned liquid (marinade) to add flavor.

Mirepoix - When a recipe refers to "mirepoix" it is talking about a standard ratio of onions, carrots, and celery used in classical cooking. The ratio is 50% onion, 25% carrots, and 25% celery. Mirepoix is often used in the making of stocks and soups. Sometimes ham or bacon is added for more flavor. It is used to season sauces, stews, and soups. Mirepoix can also be used as a bed on which to braise meats.

Mise en place [MEEZ ahn plahs] - A French term referring to having all the ingredients necessary for a dish prepared and ready to combine up to the point of cooking. Organizing and completing in advance all the preliminary steps required in a specific preparation.

Non-reactive pan - When a recipe calls for a non-reactive cookware, use clay, copper, enamel, glass, plastic, or stainless steel. Stainless steel is the most common non-reactive cookware available as it does not conduct or retain heat well (it frequently has aluminum or copper bonded to the bottom or a core of aluminum between layers of stainless steel). Although expensive, this kind of cookware offers the benefits of a durable, non-reactive surface and rapid, uniform heat conductivity. Glass cookware is non-reactive and although it retains heat well it conducts it poorly. Enamelware is non-reactive as long as the enamel is not scratched or chipped.

Pinch - Same as a 'dash.' The amount of dry spice you can hold between your thumb and forefinger.

Reduce - To boil until a liquid is reduced through evaporation to concentrate flavor and thicken the liquid.

Sauté – A cooking technique which means to cook a food quickly in oil and/or butter over high heat. You can use a skillet or sauté pan, but make sure it is big enough to comfortably contain what you are cooking.

Scald – (1) to dip into boiling water. (2) To heat milk to just below the boiling point. (3) To dip fruits, vegetables, or nuts in boiling water to facilitate removing the skin or shell.

Scale – To remove the scales from fish with a knife or a fish scaler.

Scant – Scant means lacking a small part of the whole; not quite up to full measure. In other words, one (1) scant teaspoon means not quite a whole teaspoon but a little less. Scant is a very bad term to use in writing a recipe. The recipe should give the exact amount or say “to taste.”

Score – (1) To cut narrow gashes in fat to prevent the meat from curling when cooked. (2) To cut narrow crisscross lines on the fat of a ham or a roast. (3) To cut even shallow lines in cucumbers with a fork or scoring knife for decorations.

Sear, Searing – The browning (caramelizing) of a food surface at high heat. Little fat is used when searing. Searing brings out the flavor and creates a fond at the bottom of the pan which is used for making sauces.

Season – (1) To add flavor to foods (such as adding herbs and spices). (2) To coat the cooking surface of a new pot or pan with vegetable oil and then heating in a 350 degree F. oven for about a hour. This smoothes out the surface of new pots and pans, particularly cast-iron, and prevents foods from sticking.

Shred – To use a knife or a shredder (a cutting tool with round, smooth, sharp-edged holes) to cut food into long, thin strands.

Shuck, Shucking – Means to remove a natural outer covering from food, such as shells from oysters or husks from corn.

Simmer – To cook submerged in liquid just below a boil, a temperature of 180 degrees F. to just short of the boiling point. A simmering liquid has bubbles floating slowly from the bottom to the surface. Check out Poaching vs. Simmering vs. Boiling

Skim – (1) To remove floating matter from the surface of a liquid with a spoon or ladle which is usually perforated. (2) To remove a top surface of fat, cream, or scum from the top of liquid.

Slurry – A slurry is a mixture of a starch and cold water. You can use cornstarch (preferred for thickening milk or dairy sauces), arrowroot (great for defatted meat sauces or broths because it gives a wonderful glossy sheen), potato starch, rice flour, or regular flour. Proportion is one (1) part starch with two (2) parts cold liquid. Remove from the heat before you add the slurry, or you’ll end up with dumplings.

Splash - A dash of a liquid.

Steam – To cook with steam, usually in a steamer or on a rack over boiling water. Steaming retains flavor, shape, texture, and nutrients better than boiling or poaching. In this method, steam is the heat conductor. If it is under pressure, as it is in a pressure steamer, the temperature is hotter than a water-based liquid can ever be.

Steep – To soak herbs, spices, raisins, etc. in a hot liquid to intensify the flavors.

Temper – (1) To slowly bring up the temperature of a cold or room temperature ingredient by adding small amounts of a hot or boiling liquid. Adding the hot liquid gradually prevents the cool ingredient (such as eggs) from cooking or setting. The tempered mixture can then be added back to hot liquid for further cooking. This process is used most in making pastry cream and the like.

Truss - To secure food (usually poultry or game) with string, pins, or skewers so that it maintains a compact shape during cooking. Trussing allows for easier basting during cooking.

Unleavened (uhn-LEHV-uhnd) - The word which describes any baked good that has no leavener, such as yeast, baking powder, or baking soda.

Water Bath - See Bain Marie.

Zest - Grated zest is simply the grated rind (outer colored portion) from citrus fruits. It is used in cooking because the rind holds the precious oils where the entire flavor resides. To grate zest or rind, take a box grater and rub the fruit against the grater. Don't rub the fruit down to the white inner skin, known as the pith, because the pith is bitter. When removing the skin from oranges or other citrus fruit, be sure to take only the thin outer zest or colored portion. The white pith will give your dish a bitter under taste.